<p>My current school offers no APs, so I am self-studying APs because I am genuinely interested in the courses and material. The problem is, my GC was too late contacting AP services, so I won't be able to take exams this year. </p>
<p>This is okay with me, but this means that next year (junior year) I will be taking my first real AP Exams. </p>
<p>Does this put me at a disadvantage? Or is this okay since I am self-studying? </p>
<p>My course load for junior year will be very rigorous (6-7 classes plus 3 or so AP self-studies). </p>
<p>Should I take the tests for the courses I'm studying now next year?
Will it look bad to not have any APs (self-studied) until Junior year? </p>
<p>I'm sorry this is so confusing, but any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank You. :)</p>
<p>College admissions officers judge your accomplishments in terms of your local context. You will not be at a disadvantage if your school does not offer Advanced Placement courses. In fact, the initiative you are taking will only work to your advantage. Have your guidance counselor take note of your independent studies to corroborate your work.</p>
<p>^ agreed.
& i sure hope it isn’t a disadvantage b/c i couldn’t take any APs until junior year either.
lol but you’re smarter than me in that you made it work for you…i was just like okay. next year then.</p>
<p>At my HS you couldn’t really take APs before junior year except for a few like CS or music theory.
Don’t worry about it. I think there’s an overemphasis on these boards on self-studying APs. Maybe if there’s a class you’re in that has a corresponding AP it might make sense to put in a little bit more time so you can take the AP, but if it’s a subject you’re starting from scratch it’s probably a waste of time. There are few APs that I think you can self-study and actually learn the material well enough to make it worth skipping the class in college (pulling off a 5 is not necessarily the same as having a deep understanding of the material). The only subject I heard of any of my HS classmates self-studying was econ, and I think there were a bunch of them doing it in a group, maybe with the business teacher. I haven’t met anyone at Tufts either (that I know of) who self-studied an AP and then skipped the class.</p>
<p>EDIT: now that I think of it, one of my friends self-studied AP stat, but I think that’s one of the few topics that are easy enough that it would be worth completely skipping the intro class.</p>
<p>I didn’t take any AP’s until my junior year, and only one, at that, even though AP’s are almost the norm at my school. I loaded up senior year, and it hasn’t hurt me.</p>
<p>You are fine, especially since your school offers no AP classes. Just self-study them next year if you still want to and you will be in good shape. Good luck.</p>